How did the Norse during the Viking Age make
iron blooms from bog ore?
Experimental Archaeology can give insight into the techniques
used in Northern Europe to operate direct reduction iron
smelting furnaces.
This is a record of the ongoing series by Darrell Markewitz,
assisted by members of the Dark Ages
Re-creation Company.
Wareham, Ontario, Canada is this centre for practical research
into Norse methods in North America.

Experimental Overview
Available in three forms:

The first is a point form version of the main
information, presented with reference images from the
individual smelts.

The earlier smelts carried out with members of
the Dark Ages Re-creation Company
are documented here: www.darkcompany.ca/iron

In and effort to designate which experiments
were carried out with the assistance of DARC,
look for boxes with this colour.

Individual Smelt Reports
These consist of the overall descriptions (usually with
photographs),
 Early experiments are links to the DARC web site (Neil
Peterson)
 Experiments listed in bold type are
detailed below.
 Some of the later summaries are as blog postings.

" From Turf to Tools
is an ongoing investigation in to landscape,
material and craft, inspired by local
archeological investigations in Rhynie,
Aberdeenshire (Scotland).

From 11-24th August, the collaboration of Scottish
Sculpture Workshop artist Eden Jolly and master
blacksmith Darrell Markewitz, with Dr. Gordon
Noble, archeologist at University of Aberdeen,
will seek to recreate a ceremonial axe  as seen
on the Rhynie Man standing stone  through
smelting and forging locally sourced materials. "

Backround documentation and discussion leading up
to the Turf
to
Tools project can be found via blog postings
on 'Hammered Out Bits' :

For more details on the Turf to Tools project
(several photo essays and commentaries) :

Continuing Adventures
in Early Iron Production
An overview of experimental iron smelts, 2001 - 2008.An updating and revsion of the paper delivered at
the 'Friends of the Medieval Studies Society of the Royal
Ontario Museum
1st Annual Symposium' in March of 2006. The Full text of the revised verson can be found
at Continuing
Adventures in Early Iron.
The text of the original paper (35 page version) can be
found at ROM -
Adventures in Smelting .

Towards an Icelandic Smelt
Based on the remains at HalsPrepared with the assistance of Kevin Smith & Neil
Peterson
This is an 'in house' document outlining the archaeology
and thought behind the Icelandic / Sod Smelter series
Prepared October, 2008 - Continue to 'An Icelandic Smelt'

Concerning the Shape
of BloomsAlthough originally published on the blog 'Hammered
Out Bits' this short article has a more formal structure
(footnotes and references).
Original date February 9, 2010
The text can be found mirrored here - Shape of Blooms.

Iron Smelting in
Vinland
Conveting Archaeological Evidence to Practical Method.Presented at 'Forward Into the Past', Wilfred
Laurier University, April, 2010The full text of the revised verson (V3 - June
2010) can be downloaded as a PDF : Iron
Smelting in Vinland.

Other Articles, Notes &
Reports

Archaeology
& Experiment :
Iron Smelting

A hands on
experience in Experimental
Archaeology

A 4 day hands on
program for senior students, combining
class room sessions with the direct
experience of building and operating a
short shaft, slag tapping, direct
process iron bloomery furnace.

Is my BLOG - on it you will find a regular
series of short postings on various aspects of
Experimental Iron SmeltingGo
to
'Hammered Out Bits'

The following articles are from the very start
of the Experimental series, and are considerably
dated. (Included to document the entire process
undertaken.

' Iron in the Viking Age
'
A set of point form notes that
accompanied a 2002 lecture Go on 'Iron
in
Viking Age'.

' The Limits of
Experiment '
This outline detailing the 'unknowns'
was originally prepared in Spring 2004
- with only TWO experimental smelts to
draw upon. Go on 'Experiment
Limits'.

'
Iron Smelting Series - An
Experimental Philosophy '
These notes cover discussions and
decisions made by the primary smelt
team of DARC during the smelter prep
on May 15, 2004Go on Directions
of
Experiments.

Originally published in
Expedition Magazine
:
University of Pennsylvania Museum,
Volume 49, Number 3 - Winter 2007

Elizabeth is one of the consistent
participants in the EARLY IRON series of
symposiums. At Early Iron 3 (2006) she
interviewed Lee, Skip, Mike and myself.
This article is the result. The link will
give you a direct download of the article
as a PDF.

I would like to thank ROYAL OAK
CHARCOAL who had supported the initial series
with the kind donation of the fuel used in the majority of
experiments from 2003 to 2008. Each smelt consumes as much
as 100 kg of charcoal, and it is safe to say that the
commitment to this research program would have proved
impossible without Royal Oak's generous support. Over the
years, Royal Oak charcoal has proven consistent and of
high quality.

Thanks goes to McDonald's
Home Hardware of Dundalk Ontario.
Glen and Brent McDonald have patiently helped with many
strange requests for over 20 years.
More importantly, since 2009 they have provided all the
charcoal at reduced costs. (Starting with the 'Vinland'
series of smelts).

The original Project Grant covered air travel to
Scotland and four weeks on the Turf to Tools Two
project. I was able to apply additional funing to
extend the trip to cover:
 Participation in the Ypres 2017
International Blacksmith's event
 Participation in the ARTEfaktyIron Smelting eventResearch
at the Scotish Crannog Centre

was in part supported by a Travel
Grant from the Canada Council for the Arts

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for
the Arts, which last year invested $157 million to
bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country.
Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son
soutien. Lan dernier, le Conseil a investi 157
millions de dollars pour mettre de lart dans la vie
des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays.

'Iron Blooms to Working Bars' was
a special project from Feburary 15 to May 15, 2012.It was supported by a Crafts Projects -
Creation and Development Grant.
The Ontario
Arts Council is an agency of the Government of
Ontario.

The purpose of the grant was to cover three months
deicated time to allow development of a practical
understanding of how to covert raw blooms into working
bars, and if time permits, into finished objects. Part of
the process will be to document the ongoing project, and
publish the results via a dedicated
blog, this web site, and through demonstrations,
formal papers or jounal articles.

This HANDS ON
course is dependant on registrations
(requires full class of 4 students due to materials cost)

This roughly 20 hour
session will involve the student in the construction and operation of
the 'EconoNorse'
small scale iron smelter. On Friday evening students will cover the theoretical and
historical background of smelting iron: ores, furnaces, process,
equipment. Saturday students will build the furnace itself, plus prepare charcoal and ore. An early start for a LONG day Sunday will start with the
pre-heating the furnace. The actual process of the smelt takes roughly
6 - 8 hours. After this, the resulting iron bloom will be extracted from
the furnace, and given a primary consolidation. The iron produced will
be cut to sections and shared between the participants. This program
does not require any previous metalworking experience, and is of
interest to students of history as well as blacksmiths.